I met Amy and Luke while they were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their little bubba. It was a spectacular maternity session, the light was incredible, as too was the love and anticipation between these two. A couple of months later I got the call that baby Eva had arrived, so I met them at their beautifully renovated home for their newborn session. It was a bonus to have Luke’s grandmother included too! It’s always so lovely when clients give me the opportunity to document their journey from pregnancy through to parenthood. Thank you Amy & Luke for inviting me to be a part this very special time with you!

___

I feel like sometimes I harp on about this, but here’s yet another reminder, if you are a mummy-to-be and interested in booking a newborn session with me, please do so while you are still pregnant. I can only take on a limited number of newborns each month to ensure I am available for each and every one of them. Please get in touch here to book. I can’t wait!

2018, you were a rollercoaster of a year, and I cannot help but be filled with gratitude.

I have recently discovered the work of author Brene Brown and listened to her book The Gifts Of Imperfection (via Audible – if you don’t have Audible, you NEED it!). I am currently listening to it for a third time in maybe six weeks, yes it’s THAT good! She has one chapter on Cultivating Gratitude and Joy which has been such an eye opener for me, that I am wanting to carry it right into 2019. The idea is that practising gratitude (yes, practising…it is not easy and takes time to learn), leads to a joy filled life. And I for one want 2019 to be a joy filled year. Not just happy. But full of JOY.

So, here it goes. In 2018 I am grateful for…

…indoor plants. Need I say more.…my little sister FINALLY tying the knot, and getting to see my son and daughter as ring bearer and flower girl – cuteness overload!…a friend returning home. Her time away only grew our bond (who says long distant relationships were hard?!), but having her back has made it even stronger again. …scrunchies. I don’t know why it took them so long to be on trend again. I want one in every colour. Perhaps that should be my New Years resolution.…each and every family who I have met and photographed this year, your support means the world to me. Thank you.…my first interstate booking…and the gin and friendship that flowed from it.…my first trip to Byron Bay. Yes, it was wet, but I am thankful for the beautiful fellow creatives I met and the things I learnt. I feel I’m owed another trip though, Byron still needs to prove to me that it is sunny and warm and perfect.…being invited as a guest host on the Dear Photographer Instagram account! What a wonderfully supportive community to be a part of.…finally being able to feel. This is a big one. All my life I have pushed emotions away, forced them deep down and ignored them. Those that knew me even only a few months ago would know I find it hard to talk about emotions, because all my life I have barely allowed myself to feel them. Then in one moment they all came bursting up to the surface and I became completely overwhelmed by all the emotions. Everything was felt and it was felt HARD. But I am grateful it happened, it changed me. Instead of ignoring my feelings, I am letting them hurt and doing my best to deal with them. I have made changes that needed to happen. Mourned. Forgiven. Moved on. Experienced the new-found freedom. And then often gone back to step one again. It‘s a hard, dark, scary struggle. But I’ve learnt that the struggle has brought me strength and birthed a new version of me.…my support network. Friends and family who when I needed them, really stepped up to the plate. They gave me advice, shared their own experiences, took me out when all I wanted to do was hide away at home, did the mummy things that I couldn’t do and literally held me as I was going through the deepest darkest experiences of my life.…the new year ahead. Photographing more incredible families. Watching my baby start school. Purchasing more indoor plants…and scrunchies. More hurting and more feeling and more growth. And so much more JOY.

Happy New Year to all of my wonderful followers. May your year be filled with joy and gratitude.

When Cheryl from Cedar & Salt Photography contacted me to book a session while I was in Byron Bay, I totally flipped out. I am a huge fan of her incredible work photographing honest and wild love. So I went into total negative self-talk mode, ‘You can’t do this’, ‘You’re not good enough’, ‘Why are you even going to Byron anyway,’ ‘Who do you think you are?’, but it was too late, flights were booked, deposit was paid and it was happening.

Things were pretty nuts leading up to my weekend in Byron, which distracted me from over thinking this family shoot that was fast approaching. The day came and the weather was, well, typical Melbourne weather; cold, windy, and wet. We met at the beautiful beach Cheryl chose, and stayed until we couldn’t hack it anymore. The wind was freezing and little Zali wasn’t having a bar of it. So we made the call to move to their tiny bungalow in the heart of Byron. It was perfect! We all relaxed, the girls cheered up and got snuggly on the couch. It was an absolute delight!

___

A note to families - summer is well and truly here, and I am thankful to be booking more beach sessions on the Mornington Peninsula again! I now only have one evening session left in January, the next date available is 30th of March, then April is mostly free. Please get in touch soon if this is something you’d love to do! If you need more inspo, take a look at this blog post from a session on the Peninsula in April this year, and this blog post at another of the many beautiful locations I love to use! If you’re ready to book, or have any questions at all, please get in touch with me here.